About THE CEMETERY

A once remote location the Symonds Street Cemetery was established in 1842, when Auckland was the capital of New Zealand, with a population of around 2000 people. At that time the area was out beyond the town limits, and the location was considered appropriate for a cemetery because of the wide, sweeping views. Land was set aside for burials from 1842, with ultimately each religion given a separate area. To the east of Symonds Street facing towards the harbour were the Anglican and Wesleyan burial grounds. To the west of Symonds Street were the Jewish, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic areas. In 1886 and further in 1905 there were restrictions on burials and the Cemetery given to Auckland City Council as a public park from 31 December 1909.

Originally the Cemetery had an area of 22 acres 2 roods and 6.7 perches, or around 9 hectares. Following the taking of land for the motorways, the area is now around 6.76 hectares. The Jewish section was around one acre in area, the Catholic was originally of five acres and both the Presbyterian and Wesleyan sections were of three acres each. David Verran, who has led tours of Symonds Street Cemetery since 1993 and researched the Auckland Libraries Symonds Street Cemetery database, estimates there were between 10,000 and 15,000 burials in the Cemetery. He also located 69 Māori burials in the Cemetery.

Symonds Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery and park in central Auckland, New Zealand. It is in 5.8 hectares of deciduous forest taking in both Newton and Grafton Gullies, by the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road, and is crossed by the Grafton Bridge. The Waiparuru stream flows through the lower part of Grafton Gully. The street (and by extension the Cemetery) are named for William Cornwallis Symonds- a British Army officer prominent in the early colonisation of New Zealand. It has a Historic Place Category I listing in the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Maintenance and administration of the Cemetery is provided by the Auckland Council.